Construction on Spindle City luxury housing to start next spring

COHOES -- After four years of planning, the Lexington Hills housing development off of St. Agnes Highway received final approval from the city planning board, and construction at the 85 acre site is slated to begin in the spring of 2014.

The project, with 408 luxury rental units in 35 buildings, is being planned out in three construction phases. The first phase includes 198 units and a clubhouse. The second phase would build 120 units and a maintenance building. The final phase includes 90 units and the fitness center, planning board officials said.

Each building will contain 10 to 12 units, and each unit will have an interior garage. About 1,044 parking spots are planned, which equates to 2.5 spaces per unit.

Advertisement

About 63 acres would remain a no-disturbance buffer between the neighboring residential areas and the development. The project has received county planning board approval and a traffic study was submitted.

"This has included a thorough engineering review," said Melissa Ashline-Heil, director of the Building and Planning department. She noted that the developer, Capital District Properties LLC, has invested in repairing and replacing city infrastructure, including improving a water quality sewer separation system at Lancaster Street to fix an overflow problem, since the development will have an impact on the overall infrastructure.

At a recent meeting, planning board chair Joseph Moloughney brought up the state Department of Environmental Conservation's storm water system standards, and felt that the developer had reasonably interpreted the DEC criteria.

The developer will pay property taxes while increasing the sales tax revenue by increasing the city's population.

In the last census, the city's population had increased for the first time since the early 20th century.

All housing development services will be taken care of privately: Road maintenance, plowing, garbage pick-up, and the sewer lines. Residents will have a garbage can and recycling bin for CountyWaste. The developer also wants to create a community streetscape with sidewalks, tree-lined streets and period cast-iron lighting.

In prior interviews, the project had been described as a $50 million proposal that had originally included 48 carriage houses, condos, and high-end rental units. The project received planned development district approval in 2008 and the developer had initially planned to start construction in 2010, as their website still shows.

Due to changes in the economy, the project eventually changed from properties being for sale to luxury rental units.